


five times a day

by potidaea



Category: Teenage Bounty Hunters (TV)
Genre: F/F, Slurs, That Boy Is Gay
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-05
Updated: 2020-09-05
Packaged: 2021-03-06 14:21:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,269
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26310298
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/potidaea/pseuds/potidaea
Summary: Soon after that, the pair were sharing lunch together - trading snacks and swapping theories about Pretty Little Liars. Ezekiel didn’t dare question the motives of his icy-eyed avenger. He had a friend, that was all that mattered. If his new friend stared at the table of perpetually preppy blonde girls by the windows (prime seating), he didn’t have to notice. He definitely didn’t have to ask questions.or: Sterling and April's relationship through Ezekiel's eyes
Relationships: April Stevens & Ezekiel, April Stevens/Sterling Wesley
Comments: 18
Kudos: 255





	five times a day

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on twitter @ [ki1yun](https://twitter.com/ki1yun)

Sixth grade. That was the first time it happened. That was also the year he met April. Ezekiel didn’t come out, per se, but suddenly his distaste for sports combined with his academic knowledge of Katy Perry’s Super Bowl half-time show for a caustic whirlwind, and everyone in Ms. Johnson’s class just _knew_. 

The girls mostly left him alone, because they were equally invested in Left Shark’s rise to fame...but the boys were less forgiving. Most days were spent avoiding taunts of _Efreakiel_ or, more to the point, _girl_ , in the halls. Neither was particularly creative, but it stung all the same. One day a small but mighty April Stevens happened upon his intended bully who trailed menacingly behind him in the packed hallway. Her loafered foot stuck out with symphonic timing, tripping the pimpled pre-teen. 

“Are you okay?” she feigned concern for the older boy as onlookers laughed at the eighth-grader who face-planted on the tiled floor. Though, if her smirk was anything to go by, she was in on the joke. Soon after that, the pair were sharing lunch together - trading snacks and swapping theories about _Pretty Little Liars_ . Ezekiel didn’t dare question the motives of his icy-eyed avenger. He had a friend, that was all that mattered. If his new friend stared at the table of perpetually preppy blonde girls by the windows (prime seating), he didn’t have to notice. He _definitely_ didn’t have to ask questions.

Hannah B, though edging on vapid, transferred to Willingham in the eighth grade and their duo became a trio. By the time high school started over in the big building, most people had forgotten about him save for a few jocks on the lacrosse team. Things were okay. 

Mostly. 

Every once in awhile, he would get caught off guard changing for gym class or passing through the halls on his way to class. That’s when he’d hear it. _Fag_. It wasn’t long after he met April that he learned the easiest thing to do was walk a little taller and make a grab for whatever power there was to be had. At Willingham, that meant a mile-long list of extracurriculars, but most importantly: Fellowship. So, he would be the most pious fag Atlanta had ever seen - and April made sure of it. 

Was she Machiavellian? Maybe. Kind? Also, maybe. 

It took about a year of glaring at upperclassmen and smiling righteously at teachers until April Stevens & Co. were the uncontested Holy Trinity of Willingham Academy. This included a semi-hostile takeover of Young Republicans, Forensics, Math Club, and yes, the Straight-Straight Alliance. He questioned it at first. April _knew_ , they’d never spoken of it directly, but she knew. At his petulantly raised brow, all the young brunette said was, “Oh, I’m sorry, do you _want_ to be bullied?”

Ezekiel relented with a roll of his eyes, “Fine.”

The meetings were...not completely horrific. Usually, it was about the same as Fellowship but couples used it as an excuse to go make out after school. (Note to self: never use the B hallway bathroom.) It was the same boring schedule every week. A club for every day. Then, suddenly, after two years of immaculate attendance, April skipped a meeting - and he, as Vice President, was left to lead. 

**_April (2:30pm):_ ** _Forgot I had a dentist appointment, sorry. I’ll be there next week._

He saw April most of the day - from homeroom to Fellowship to Ellen’s class just before the final bell rang...well, just before she disappeared with Sterling after their A++ anyway. She never mentioned any appointments.

**_Ezekiel (2:31pm):_ ** _Ugh fine, but I’ll need a dr’s note_

April responded with a simple, straightforward middle finger emoji. The meeting would go on without her. It had to, in fact, as she was at home, pacing frantically in an attempt to forget that she kissed Sterling Wesley. That Sterling Wesley kissed _her_. This couldn’t happen. Everyone would know the instant she stepped into school tomorrow. Could she even show her face at dinner? If her mother drank enough, maybe.

At the buzz of the phone in her pocket, the teen nearly jumped out of her skin convinced it was her reckoning. It was the opposite. A notification from Instagram, on her _private,_ private account, where she followed girls lightyears braver than her. The only thing that tied her to it was her phone - admittedly, a risk - but everything else was untraceable. Her name and her email were throwaways. It was a message from a friend. She breathed a sigh of relief, shaking off some of her nerves, and started typing. 

**_book.of.ruth (2:45pm):_ ** _omg you will never believe what happened_

\---

The next day at school, something was...different. Ezekiel couldn’t quite place it, but he knew, without a doubt, that something had shifted. April seemed more guarded than usual. He almost let his suspicions pass as too much caffeine and late-night true crime, but then it happened. 

A pack of football players passed them with a shared fake-cough of _faggot_ , like the single-celled organism that had yet to crawl from the ooze they were. April froze like she’d been shot. Then, turned with fire in her eyes. “Buster Macon, if you don’t get out of this hallway right now, I will not hesitate to tell your grandma what you and KellyLynn do in the back pew at Sunday worship.”

Panicked eyes bulged out of the boy’s head at the _very real_ threat before he obediently dragged his teammates away from impending bloodshed.

The brunette simply cleared her throat and kept walking. Ezekiel, however, was shaken. What _the fuck_ had just happened? April never reacted, not anymore. It had been years since she’d so much as looked in the direction of an offender. She was April fucking Stevens, she was better than that. 

“Uh, thanks,” he said softly once their footfalls fell in step again.

She just nodded. Then, they parted ways for fifth period, after which he _always_ met her at her locker. That’s when he saw it. Sterling Wesley stood there, talking and smiling and April was smiling back. In fact, he’d never seen her look so happy. So, he stayed back - at least until Sterling left. She deserved this, whatever it was.

\---

He was about seventy-five percent certain when Hannah B. complained that April missed dinner after telling a story that seemed to go nowhere about Sterling Wesley’s water bottle. But when all of the pieces finally fit together, the destination it arrived at was beautiful. Was April fucking Sterling Wesley in the Fellowship room?

Still, he held in his glee and sighed. “She has a lot going on with her dad, girl. I’m sure she didn’t mean anything by it.”

“Yeah, probably.”

\---

Ezekiel was about ninety-percent sure when he and Hannah B. happened upon April kissing into her phone, eyes shining bright. _Perfumier? Yeah, right._

\---

But then, he saw the look on Sterling’s face at the Lock-In as April hung all over Luke Creswell. He saw her sulk and he saw her boldly stare into April’s eyes as she hit play on a song that clearly _meant something_. He saw her turn up the volume, and he saw April try to hide tears as she shifted closer to Luke. She was going boldly where no Willingham Academy student had gone before.

He was one-hundred-percent fucking certain.

So, when Sterling ran and April followed with a _she’s probably upset about Luke, I should check on her_ it only seemed right to distract the boy as he attempted to follow. “Hey, did you bring your guitar?"

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on twitter @ [ki1yun](https://twitter.com/ki1yun)


End file.
